Adventures in Cartooning Activity Book!

The superlative Adventures in Cartooning (2009) was a first-rate adventure story and clever comics primer for young readers. This follow-up offers a hands-on approach to creating sequential narrative that kids interested in the form will not be able to resist. Slimmer and lighter on story, the narrative of a knight and his friendly elf questing for fun in the middle of a rainstorm is seamlessly woven into various activities meant to sharpen children's understanding of and skill with the rudiments of sequential art. All the crucial bases are covered: illustrating expressions, characters, objects, and actions; using codes (like speed lines), perspective, dialogue, and sound effects; and panel sequencing and efficiency. All this culminates in a mapped-out array of blank panels for producing an entire story. Nothing else quite like this take on understanding and making comics exists, and few things in the future are likely to capture its charm, though there is certainly an issue with its built-in, print-specific limitations: be ready to xerox all the activity pages, or this will be a one-use activity book. -- Booklist